Kickoff between Bangs (1-3) and De Leon (3-1) is set for 7 p.m. in the District 5-2A Division I opener for both teams.
The Dragons finished as the third seed from the district a year ago, while the Bearcats were on the outside looking in when the playoffs arrived. But early in 2023, De Leon is riding the bigger wave of positive momentum into the contest.
“If we want to make the playoffs, both teams know we need to win,” said Bangs first-year head coach Jason Cole. “We’ve got a couple of teams at the top of the district that are really tough, so the rest of us need to pick up every win we can.”
The Dragons are coming off a 54-37 loss to Merkel last week, a game in which Bangs yielded the first 40 points before fighting back in the second half.
“We have to start better this next week, that’s something the kids and the coaches talked about at the end,” Cole said. “We have to be prepared to make sure we start well. I told the kids we were all getting our tails kicked together, I was getting mine kicked the same as everybody else. I asked them if we were going to quit or go out and play and they looked me right in the eye and said they were going to play. We talked about plays we wanted to run and a few things we could get better at on defense so we went out in the second half and played hard, got excited and we were really proud of them.”
Despite the loss, Bangs generated 431 yards of total offense – 275 through the air and 156 on the ground – without a turnover.
Quarterback Kenny Cole connected on 22 of 37 passes for 275 yards and four touchdowns, including three to Hunter Newton who grabbed nine catches for 145 yards. Kade Minshew added six receptions for 82 yards and scored once, while Skylar Minshew pulled down six catches for 35 yards.
“Our quarterback was a little off the first half but he got it going real quick in the second half and got hot,” Cole said. “Our receivers played really well – Hunter Newton, Kade Minshew and Skylar Minshew. That was good to see because we knew we needed a couple of guys to step up that aren’t Hunter so we aren’t one-dimensional, so it was great to see Kade and Skylar catch so many balls and do so well.”
De Leon bounced back from its only defeat of the season in Week 3 – falling to Valley Mills, 42-7 – with a 24-10 win last week against previously-unbeaten Hico.
Quarterback Heston Jobe accounted for 78 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns and also passed for 136 yards. Jake Cooper finished with a team-high 88 rushing yards and scored on the ground as well. Leading just 6-3 at halftime, De Leon pulled away from Hico in the second half.
The Bearcats also own victories this season over Junction (40-19) and Cross Plains (42-7).
“De Leon, their offense is really good,” Cole said. “They have a sophomore quarterback that was their starter last year and he is very talented, a really good runner and a really good passer. Their running back is similar, a big strong, athletic kid. They have some good receivers so they’re a well-balanced offense and they really give you a lot of looks.”
The Dragons, meanwhile, enter the district opener averaging 22 points and 305 yards – 177 passing and 128 rushing – per game. Cole has completed 44 of 86 passes for 706 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions, while rushing for 123 yards and another touchdown. Leading receivers include Hunter Newton (16-272, TDs), Kade Minshew (9-169, TD), Skylar Minshew (7-69) and Ethan Ethridge (5-131, TD), who also leads the team with 276 rushing yards and a pair of scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, Bangs is yielding 46 points and 437 yards – 285 on the ground and 151 through the air – on average. Standouts include Ethridge (31 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks), Hunter Crowell (22.5 tackles), Cason Tidwell (20 tackles), Newton (12 tackles, 1 fumble recovery), Weston Scantling (9.5 tackles), Skylar Minshew (8 tackles, 1 fumble recovery), and Hunter Hudnall (7 tackles).
As for the strides the Dragons have made since the start of the season, Cole said, “We’ve grown a lot. Win or lose our kids are getting better every week. They’ve been practicing really well and they’re a joy to be around. They’re a bunch of kids who work hard and really care. We’ve gotten a lot better and I’m really happy we played better in the second half against Merkel and I’m hoping that can propel us into district.”
Asked what it would take for Bangs to emerge victorious Friday night, Cole said, “We need to start faster this week than we did last week. We need to execute early and try and get them off the field. They’ll keep the ball for 15 plays a series sometimes. They just nick you for 4 or 5 yards a play or just keep doing it. We need to stop them and make them punt and then we always need to try and win the turnover battle. Usually when you win the turnover battle you win the game, so that’s one of our big keys.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is 4-point underdog.
***
Bangs Dragons 2023 Football Season Stats
Through 4 Games (1-3)
TEAM OFFENSE
22.3 points per game (89)
304.8 yards per game (1,219)
128.3 rushing yards per game (513)
176.5 passing yards per game (706)
PASSING
* Kenny Cole
44 of 86 for 706 yards, 8 TDs, 2 INTs
RUSHING
* Ethan Ethridge
276 yards on 44 carries, 2 TDs
* Kenny Cole
123 yards on 37 carries, TD
* Hunter Hudnall
42 yards on 5 carries
* Skylar Minshew
33 yards on 19 carries
* Navaeh Menefield
24 yards on 5 carries, TD
* Brayden Gatlin
2 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
* Hunter Newton
16 catches, 272 yards, 5 TDs
* Kade Minshew
9 catches, 169 yards, TD
* Skylar Minshew
7 catches, 69 yards
* Ethan Ethridge
5 catches, 131 yards, TD
* Brayden Gatlin
3 catches, 11 yards
* Ethan Hager
2 catches, 19 yards
* Aden Jones
1 catch, 36 yards, 1 TD
* Weston Scantling
1 catch, 4 yards
###
TEAM DEFENSE
45.5 points per game (182)
437.5 yards per game (1,750)
285.8 rushing yards per game (1,143)
151.7 passing yards per game (607)
TACKLES
* Ethan Ethridge
31 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks
* Hunter Crowell
22.5 tackles
* Cason Tidwell
20 tackles
* Hunter Newton
12 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Weston Scantling
9.5 tackles
* Skylar Minshew
8 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Hunter Hudnall
7 tackles
* Kade Minshew
6 tackles, 1 INT
* Brayden Gatlin
5.5 tackles, 1 sack
* Quade Angel
5 tackles
* Aden Jones
5 tackles
* Ethan Hager
4 tackles
* Hunter Withers
3.5 tackles
* Brody Newton
3 tackles
* Noah Pin
2 tackles
* Cody Brooks
2 tackles
* Sergio Lopez
1 tackle, 1 for loss
* Navaeh Menefield
1 tackle
* Damian Hudspeth
1 tackle
* Dwayne Lyon
1 tackle
* Chris Valdez
1 tackle
###
TURNOVER MARGIN (-1)
* Bangs: 6 (4 fumbles, 2 interceptions)
* Opponents: 5 (3 fumbles, 2 interceptions)